Secret of the White Lioness, part 1: The Storm
by Elwen Orcbane
Summary: Blind, white lioness is chased through the Outlands by a pack of wild dogs and a leopard, desperate to reach the Pridelands, through a tempest
1. Default Chapter Title

Thunder roared and lightning electricuted the night air as rain fell in torrential sheets to   
  
the ground. The blind, white lioness panted and gasped for air, recieving only rainwater as she   
  
ran through the Outlands from her persuers. Behind her, she could hear the snarling and   
  
growling of a pack of wild dogs, led by a male leopard. She could tell by the sound they were   
  
getting closer. Onward she ran through the storm, desperately trying to reach the Pridelands, the   
  
famed land of prosperity. Suddenly, above her she felt the electric current of lightning hit a tree.   
  
She smelled the smoke of fire and heard a resounding CCCCRRRRAAAAAKKK!!! as she   
  
felt and heard the tree falling to the ground. The lioness screamed and swerved to the left,   
  
narrowly missing hitting the tree. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to begin screaming again as   
  
she felt the contours of the face of an open-mouthed wild dog snapping towards her. Again, she   
  
ran. But now her sense of direction was lost. Not too far behind her she could hear the shouts   
  
of the leopard and one of his dogs.  
  
"Come on! She's weakening! How long can a blind lion last? Run, boys, if you want   
  
dinner tonight, GET HER!"  
  
"But, boss, I thought we were getting her because she saw---"  
  
"Just shut up and catch her, you fool!"  
  
Frantically, the lioness turned around in several directions, trying to find the one that   
  
would take her to the Pridelands. When she sensed that if she waited any longer she would be   
  
killed, she plunged forward with an extra burst of speed, taking the direction she was facing.   
  
Just as she began to move again, she felt the wind from the snapping jaws of a dog at her heels.   
  
Again she screamed and added more speed. The wild dogs were right on her tail now!   
  
Sobbing, she charged through the Outlands. Suddenly, she skidded to a stop. She could feel   
  
that there were dogs right in front of her, and behind them was a completely vertical but low   
  
cliff. She was surrounded by the dogs! She heard the growl of the approaching leopard.  
  
"Well now, what have we here? A trapped, frightened little kitten! Are you looking for   
  
your momma, little kitty?" the leopard's voice dripped with sarcasm and fake kindness. "Well,   
  
join us for dinner and I'll take you right to her!"  
  
The lioness was frightened. She could smell the breath of her tormentors; it smelled of   
  
death. She could smell the warm blood dripping from their fangs. They were like demons   
  
searching for their next victem.   
  
"That next victem won't be me!" the lioness shouted at the top of her low, silky voice. It   
  
was enough to startle and confuse them for a few crucial moments. Desperately, she took her   
  
only chance. Coiling the little amount of strength she had left into her legs, she jumped up as high   
  
as she could, her forepaws just barely grabbing the top of the cliff. Frantically, she scrabbled for   
  
a foothold to climb over the edge. She could feel the wild dogs jumping up, trying to grab a hold   
  
of her. She screamed in agony as one caught her tail. She began to slip on the rain wettened   
  
ground as the other dogs grabbed hold and began pulling. Desperately she kicked out until her   
  
hindpaw struck the jaw of the dog on her tail. When she felt the weight drop from her tail, she   
  
swung her hindpaws over the ledge. The force of the swing flipped her over until her head hung   
  
over the edge of the cliff.   
  
The lioness screamed again as she felt the paw of the leopard strike her face, his claws   
  
raking her cheek. Quickly she pushed away from the ledge. For the moment, the lioness felt she   
  
was safe.  
  
Not for long.... she thought to herself as she heard the gurgling sound of mud slipping   
  
from the dogs' and the leopard's paws scrabbling to get over the edge. The lioness took off like   
  
a shot, certain by the feel of the grass that she was now in the Pridelands. Above her, the storm   
  
seemed to get worse. A loud RRRBBBBABRBBRBRBOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!! rattled   
  
her body, distorting her senses. Now she couldn't hear or feel the dogs! Faster and faster she   
  
ran, no longer caring what direction she took, leaping over fallen trees and animals. Suddenly,   
  
behind her she heard another crack as another flaming tree fell to the ground, downed by   
  
lightning. This time, a flaming branch struck her hard across her back. She roared in agony but   
  
kept running. Behind her, she could now hear the death wails and howls of the dogs that were   
  
crushed under the burning tree. She ran, faster still! Finally, she stopped, still panting for breath   
  
but recieving only water. Ahead of her she could feel where the rain was not hitting the ground,   
  
but a large rock formation. Pride Rock! At last,I have made it! she thought as she gave one   
  
more agonized roar and collapsed, unconcious. 


	2. Default Chapter Title

Note to the reader: You'll have to have read SOTWL part 1 to understand. This is   
  
where things can get a bit...bloody. If you dont like the sight of blood, or descriptions of   
  
wounds, this may shock ya.  
  
Simba was suddenly jolted awake from his deep slumber from a horrifying, unearthly   
  
half roar, half wail of agony. Around him he heard the confused murmurs of the lionesses.  
  
"Uhhh...what was that?"  
  
"That was no lion of our pride!"  
  
"What on earth could have made a sound like that?"  
  
Kiara and Kovu ran up to Simba and his queen, Nala.  
  
"Daddy, what was that?" Kiara looked up into her fathers startled eyes. She was   
  
shivering like a cub with a nightmare.  
  
"I dont know, Kiara. But I intend to find out! No normal animal could roar like that..."   
  
Simba answered, not letting on that he was almost as scared. No animal he had ever heard   
  
made a noise similar to that. The four lions ran outside. There, on the ground outside Pride   
  
Rock, they saw a half-dead, adolescent white lioness. Her fur was matted with blood and   
  
plastered with mud. On her hind end, there were nasty burn marks. Her tail seemed snapped   
  
and out of place. On her face were claw marks-obviously from a leopard. On her feet were bite   
  
marks. All over the lioness's body were deep, ugly, wide, bloody gashes. Aside from that, it   
  
was apparent she was literally starving to death. Every rib was visible, and her side was far too   
  
thin.  
  
"Oh, my--," Nala drew in a sharp breath. Both she and Kiara turned their heads; the   
  
mangled, bloody mess was too much for them to bear.  
  
"Daddy, is she d--," Kiara couldnt bring herself to finish the word. Even through her   
  
tightly closed eyes, she could still see the lioness, which seemed to be around her age.   
  
Simba and Kovu jumped down from Pride Rock. The rain pounded over their heads as   
  
they tried to watch for signs of life. Holding a blade of grass by her nostrils to check for   
  
breathing was useless; the wind was blowing to hard. Gently, Kovu placed a paw on the white   
  
lioness's poor excuse of a side. Finally, he felt her stomach go up and come back down, a sign   
  
of breathing.  
  
"She's alive!" Kovu yelled to Simba, just as a loud burst of thunder rattled the ground   
  
and lightning lit up the skies.  
  
"She's alive!" Simba roared up to the lionesses peering over the edge of the rock, "I   
  
need four lionesses down here, now!! Bring branches and barkcloth to make a stretcher!"  
  
Quickly, Nala, Kiara, Vitani, and another lioness named Anoki did the king's bidding.   
  
As fast as they could, they wound the corners of a barkcloth into the branches. The branches   
  
formed six handles, three on each side, one for each lion. Gently as if picking up their cubs, all   
  
six picked the lioness up in their mouths and placed her on the stretcher. Then they took their   
  
places on the side and picked up the branches in their mouths. Slowly, they made their way   
  
back up to the shelter of Pride Rock. Setting her down inside, Simba barked out orders.  
  
"Anoki and Dyani! Quickly, go get Rafiki! Vitani, cover her with the barkcloth! Nala,   
  
start washing her wounds! Kiara, try and get some water down her throat-if there's anything left   
  
of it!"  
  
Slowly, Kiara tried to pour water down the white lioness's throat. At first, nothing went   
  
down. Finally, she heard the lioness groaning and managed to get a few sips down.  
  
Suddenly, the white lioness's body spasmed fitfully! She roared and wailed in unearthly   
  
tones.  
  
"Keep her down! Keep her down! She's going into shock! We need to keep her down   
  
or we could lose her!" Nala shouted above the wails.   
  
Keeping the lioness down proved to be no easy task. She thrashed and flailed about,   
  
clawing anything in her pathe. And yet, she seemed to be still completely unconcious.  
  
"Oh, my...." Kiara gasped as the lioness's eyes opened wide, revealing her milky blue   
  
irises and only slightly darker blue pupils. Her pupils expanded and retracted rapidly, and yet   
  
she seemed to see nothing.   
  
And she never will see anything! Kiara thought to herself. She's blind!  
  
The lioness continued wailing, but now did it only between wheezing gasps for air. She   
  
screeched and roared in the same breath. She was foaming at the mouth. At last, the lionesses   
  
got the blind, white one down. They pressed against her gently, yet with all their body weight, to   
  
keep her from thrashing, but without much avail. She continued thrashing, catching several   
  
lionesses with her paws. Finally, she wore herself out and she lay there comatose.  
  
The lionesses breathed a sigh of relief, but too soon. Outside, they heard Simba and   
  
Kovu roar in unison. And then, they heard another voice.  
  
"Hand over the white lioness! She's in there, I know it. I can hear her out here!"  
  
"Never!" Simba roared back.  
  
"She is rightfully mine, she is my prey!"  
  
"No free beast is rightfully yours!" Kovu countered.  
  
"I demand that you bring her to me!"  
  
"You demand?! You damand of me, the king?!" Simba roared in anger. Quickly, the   
  
lionesses rushed outside to see what was happening. Standing on the ground where the lioness   
  
had been was a huge, male leopard, surrounded by a pack of twenty extremely wounded wild   
  
dogs.  
  
  
"Yes, I demand!" the leopard challenged in defiance. A streak of purple lightning struck   
  
the ground behind the monstrous pack, illuminating the dogs with an eerie glow and giving the   
  
leopard's eyes a terrifying glint.  
  
Suddenly, in the light behind them, the lions saw Rafiki and Anoki creeping around the   
  
dogs, slowly making their way towards Pride Rock.  
  
Where's Dyani??? Simba wondered to himself. He soon got his answer.  
  
"Fine! If you wont give me the white lioness, you lose this one! Bring her forward,   
  
boys!" The leopard shouted to the dogs behind him. A group of them stepped forward,   
  
dragging a screaming, thrashing Dyani behind them. They brought her to their master and forced   
  
her to stand upright; the only way the leopard could reach her without bending down. Simba   
  
leapt forward and tried to yell for the leopard to stop, but the leopard had no further intention of   
  
talking. He retracted a monstrously huge claw and slid it slowly across Dyani's throat.  
  
"DYANI!!!" Anoki, her sister, screamed.  
  
When the leopard finished slicing her throught, the dogs dropped Dyani. For a few   
  
moments, she staggered about, clutching a paw to her throught. At last, she collapsed.  
  
The hideous dogs and leopard roared with laughter. The lionesses didn't think it was so   
  
funny. They flanked down the sides of the rock, growling and snarling. The dogs and the   
  
leopard stopped laughing and retreated a few paces.  
  
"Leave here," Simba growled, his voice flat but heavy with sorrow, "You are no longer   
  
welcomed here. We are through with you!"  
  
"Oh, no, mighty king," the leopards voice dripped with sarcasm as he grinned   
  
maliciously, "We're just beginning...."   
  
***********  
  
The leopard's last words rang in Simba's head as he watched Rafiki apply herbs to the   
  
white lioness's wounds. Two lions had said this to him before leaving; Scar and Zira. And they   
  
had returned, both of them. Of course, they had both met their doom, but still, this gave the king   
  
reason to believe this leopard would return as well. On top of that, they were vicious, cruel   
  
wanderers who could raise a large army. Simba was worried.  
  
Suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by Kiara's voice.  
  
"Look! She's coming to!"   
  
Sure enough, the white lioness, who was now not so bloody or muddy, began to open   
  
her sightless eyes.  
  
"Uh! Huh? Wha? Where...where am I?" she turned her head in all directions, sniffing the   
  
air around her. She could smell the lions around her. She was very frightened in a place she   
  
didnt know.  
  
"Shh, relax. You're safe now," Nala soothed.  
  
"What we should be asking you is who are you?" Kovu eyed the white lioness.  
  
"I am..." she paused as she tried to remember her name, then winced as if thinking hurt   
  
her head, "I am Kei Tiaret."  
  
"Who was that leopard after you? Why was he after you?" Simba demanded.  
  
"That...I cannot tell ye," she sighed, and fell asleep again. 


	3. Secret of the White Lioness, Part 3: Nje...

Simba sat deep into council with his pride. Quietly, they discussed this white lioness, Kei Tiaret, while she slept on.  
  
"I don't like it..." Kovu said, growling slightly, "I don't like that she just shows up here in our pride, and won't tell us why!"  
  
"I DONT LIKE HER AT ALL!" Anoki roared. Several of the lionesses jumped to restrain her from attacking Kei. Anoki was foaming at the mouth; snarling and growling viciously like some kind of dog. "IT'S BECAUSE OF HER MY SISTER IS DEAD!" Not but a few moments ago, a huge leopard had sliced Dyani's throat, as a price for Kei Tiaret. The two sisters had been going to get Rafiki when the leopard captured Dyani. Anoki spit at Kei and sat back down.  
  
"It's not her fault," Kiara protested, "It's that stupid leopard's!"  
  
"If it weren't for her, we wouldn't even know about the stupid leopard!"  
  
Kiara didn't reply.  
  
"She definitely has some explaining to do," Simba growled quietly, "if she wants to stay here. Suddenly, they heard Kei moaning and muttering in her sleep.  
  
"No! Don't...ye cant.... please, no! Ohhh, no! No, leave them alone! I'm the White One, I'm the one you seek! Don't harm them, please.......................," Kei rolled over a few times, whimpering in pain and fear. Nala dabbed her fevered forehead with a wet leaf and gently petting her neck, which was covered in a cold fear sweat.  
  
"Just look at her, the poor thing," Nala's crystal blue eyes were sad with sympathy, "She can't be much older than Kiara or Kovu. How could such evil befall her?"  
  
"'How could such evil befall her'?! How could such evil befall me!!! Ever since we found her, she's given us nothing but trouble! Not only is my sister now dead because of her, but several lionesses are now injured from trying to keep her from going into shock!" Anoki waved a paw towards the injured lionesses. They nodded in agreement. She spat again, this time hitting an open wound. Kei screamed in pain, spasmed, and went back into fitful muttering.  
  
"NOW THAT'S ENOUGH!" Simba roared, leaping in front of Anoki. "I told you I would deal with her, and I will! When we have a visitor who is of no immediate threat, she is to be treated with respect, like we expect her to treat us! Anoki, you are to sleep outside tonight. Kei Tiaret will sleep in your spot."  
  
"Ou--ou-outside? In the tempest? With that-that-that leopard out there?!"   
  
"Yes. Outside. With the leopard. If you cannot show empathy for a wounded creature, we cannot show empathy for you." The mighty king growled softly and turned to face Kei. Anoki raised a paw, extending her claws, as if to attack Simba, or maybe Kei, but she turned and stormed out of the cavern. Nala nudged Simba gently.  
  
"I think you were a bit harsh on her, Simba," she purred, trying to soothe his shattered nerves.  
  
"Harsh or not, she and her kin have been nothing but trouble since we took them in from the Outlands," Simba growled, pacing back and forth. Nala chuckled.  
  
"Oh, yes. The terrible trio. Anoki, Dyani, and Njeri. Until now, they were almost inseparable."  
  
Simba stopped pacing and looked his wife full in the face. "Together, all three are bad. But there is something about Njeri. She's the most evil of them; I can just feel it. I think there's something going on with her. I think she's up to something. I don't like it."  
Again, Nala chuckled quietly.   
  
"Oh, my Simba. You worry too much!"   
  
"Then where was she when the whole incident happened? Why wasn't she there, trying to protect Dyani, the youngest of her sisters? I would have thought she, the oldest of the three, would have been there," the great king countered. Nala had no response. "Come on, let's go to sleep. We're not solving anything by standing here."  
*********   
All was quiet at Pride Rock. Except...a bit of movement at the very top of the rocks. Slowly, the shadowed form walked down, nimbly leaping from rock to rock without slipping on the rainwater. It stopped on the ledge, in front of the half-asleep form of Anoki. Sensing someone nearby, Anoki was roused into full consciousness. Squinting from the rain, she looked up at the figure in front of her.  
  
"Njeri? Where..." Anoki looked confused.  
  
"Hush, sister. Sleep," the figure of Njeri whispered. She glared into the mouth of Pride Rock, her eyes glowing with a sinister incandescence. Silently, Njeri turned and ran off, into the stormy night. Anoki shook her head in worry. Njeri, her elder sister, had always been somewhat foolish. One day, it would get her in trouble.  
********  
Njeri ran on through the Pridelands. She had seen the entire incident from the top of Pride Rock, and so she kept her eyes and ears open for signs of the leopard or his cronies, the dogs. Finally, she came to the edge of the Outlands. Looking around to make certain she wasn't followed, Njeri plunged ahead. Suddenly, she skidded to a stop. There in front of her were the sleeping forms of the leopards and the wild dogs. Slowly, carefully, she walked around the group, mentally giving thanks that she was upwind of them, and that the rain covered her scent. She was a fool, but still a master at survival. After another hour of running, she finally stopped in front of a small cave.   
  
"Nuka!" she called into the cave, listening intently for a response. After a minutes wait, she heard a slight, coughing reply.  
  
"Njeri! Is that you?" Nuka gave a faint but familiar insane giggle, "I thought you'd never get here!" Njeri grinned and walked into the cave, shaking water off her fur. "Hey, hey, watch the water!" Nuka scowled.  
  
"It's storming out there. What do you think I'm going to have on me, antelope?" Njeri scowled right back.   
  
"Antelope would be nice. I'm hungry," Nuka whimpered the phrase he had said so many times in the past, managing to sit up.  
  
"Ah, quit your sniveling, Nuka. I brought you your food. It ain't antelope, its only zebra, but it's the best I could do." Njeri threw a zebra thigh wrapped in leaves off her back. "And I can't guarantee the leaves kept it from getting wet. Now eat, and sleep. We have things to talk of tomorrow." She watched Nuka gulp down the zebra meat, and then fall into a fitful slumber. Even in his sleep, he whimpered, kicked, and scratched. Poor Nuka, the lioness thought to herself. Gently, she scratched the top of his head and behind his ears for him. Rejected by everyone, nearly died doing someone else's duty. Huh. He hasn't been the same since the accident. He'll live, but...Njeri sat long into the night, that day playing over again in her mind...  
  
"I'll do it, for you mother!" Nuka had shouted. Finally, he could prove his worth. As he ran up the logs, he could barely suppress his joy. "Mother, are you watching?! I'm doin' this for you, and I'm doin' this for me! This is my moment of glory!" Suddenly, his footing had slipped, causing the logs, as well as himself, to tumble back down to the bottom. Frantically, his mother Zira had dug through the rubble until she found his face.   
  
"Nuka..." Zira said softly. Nuka grinned a loopy grin.  
  
"I'm sorry, mother...I-I tried..." he whispered before succumbing to darkness. Njeri had heard no more of what went on. She, along with her sisters and Vitani, Nuka's sister, could do nothing more than stand around the logs and cry. Njeri did not understand why her sisters Anoki and Dyani cried. They treated Nuka just as Zira had; something to take their anger out on. Only Njeri made friends with Nuka. In fact, as she thought about it, she was Nuka's only friend. They were the same age, and had grown up with many things in common. Hatred for Kovu, for instance. And their moments of insanity were uncanny. Other than her sisters, Njeri felt she was now alone. She turned, snarling, to face Kovu. Kovu! It was that little termite's fault! She saw Zira smack Kovu, and the scar over his eye when she turned back. Njeri was blinded with rage. Vitani, Dyani, and Anoki had to hold her back. There was no doubt in her mind that if they let go, Njeri would kill Kovu.   
"No, Njeri. You will have your chance later," Vitani whispered. Njeri slacked a little and watched as her fellow Outlanders stalked off to prepare new plans. Once certain she alone, she turned back to Nuka's body.  
  
"No! Nuka can't be dead; it's not possible! I've survived worse crocodile attacks than that." She plucked a few blades of grass and held it in front of his nostrils, biting the claws of her other paw. Many minutes passed. Njeri had almost given up hope when, could it be?, the grass blades moved with some kind of wind. Quickly, she licked her paw and held it up. There was no wind about! He had to be alive! The lioness frantically dug through the logs, pressing her back up to keep the top logs from falling. It took several hours, but at last she was able to pull Nuka from the mess. She threw his unconscious form upon her back and took him to a small, secret cave they had played in as cubs. There was a small pool of fresh, clean water in it, and no one else knew of it. It would be the perfect place to bring him back to health. She dropped Nuka by the pool, and made sure his head was within easy reach. Before she left, Njeri managed to pour a bit of water down her friend's throat. For the next several months, she would be caring for Nuka, even after she and her sisters were forced to join Simba's pride. No one was to know...  
  
Njeri awoke sometime before dawn. Seeing that Nuka was still asleep, she decided she would wait until later in the day to talk to him. Once more, she scratched behind his ears for him, nuzzled him a bit, and set off back to the Pridelands.  



End file.
